Semiconductor device having a thin film capacitor and method for fabricating the same

ABSTRACT

In a thin film transistor, each of an upper electrode and a lower electrode is formed of at least one material selected from the group consisting of a metal and a metal nitride, represented by TiN, Ti, W, WN, Pt, Ir, Ru. A capacitor dielectric film is formed of at least one material selected from the group consisting of ZrO 2 , HfO 2 , (Zr x , Hf 1-x )O 2  (0&lt;x&lt;1), (Zr y , Ti 1-y )O 2  (0&lt;y&lt;1), (Hf z , Ti 1-z )O 2  (O&lt;z&lt;l), (Zr k , Ti l , Hf m )O 2  (0&lt;k, l, m&lt;1, k+l+m=1), by an atomic layer deposition process. The thin film transistor thus formed has a minimized leakage current and an increased capacitance.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a semiconductor device having a thinfilm capacitor and a method for fabricating the same.

Heretofore, in a general purpose DRAM, Ta₂O₅ having a high dielectricconstant has been considered as a capacitor dielectric film in a memorycell. In this case, it is an ordinary practice that a lower electrode ofa capacitor is formed of a polysilicon layer which can be formed to havea concavo-convex surface (for example, so called HSG (hemi-sphericalgrain) structure) in order to increase a capacitance per a unitary area.In order to form this polysilicon layer, a high temperature process onthe order of 700 to 900 degrees Celsius is required.

On the other hand, in a logic mixed DRAM in which a logic section and amemory section are formed on the same chip, gate electrodes andsource/drain diffused regions in the logic section are required to beprovided with a cobalt (Co) silicide for a speedup of transistors.

The cobalt silicide layer can realize a low resistance, however, if thetemperature is elevated, aggregation occurs in the cobalt silicide layerso that the resistance value of the gate electrodes and the diffusedlayers increases. Therefore, in a process after formation of the cobaltsilicide layer, the process temperature cannot be elevated. For example,in the generation of the gate length of 0.15 micron, about 600 degreesCelsius is an upper limit.

Accordingly, if Ta₂O₅ is used to form a capacitor dielectric film in thememory section of the logic mixed DRAM and if a polysilicon layer isused to form a lower capacitor electrode, a high temperature process isrequired to form the polysilicon layer, with the result that thetransistors in the logic section become deteriorated through the hightemperature process. Therefore, in the generation of the gate length of0.15 micron and in succeeding generations, it is not possible to use thepolysilicon for the lower capacitor electrode. Under this situation,there is a demand for constitute the electrode of the capacitor with ametal or a metal nitride, for example, TiN (titanium nitride), W(tungsten) or Ru (ruthenium), which can be formed at a low temperatureof not greater than 500 degrees Celsius where no aggregation occurs inthe cobalt silicide.

Now, explanation will be made on a conventional method for forming athin film capacitor, using a metal or a metal nitride for the lowercapacitor electrode and also using Ta₂O₅ for the capacitor dielectricfilm.

A lower electrode of TiN, W or Ru is formed by a CVD (chemical vapordeposition) or a PVD (physical vapor deposition), and then, a Ta₂O₅capacitor dielectric film is formed by a thermal CVD process.Thereafter, in order to reduce a leakage current in the Ta₂O₅ capacitor,a post anneal is carried out with a RTO (rapid thermal oxidation) or aUV-O₃ oxidation at a temperature of not less than 500 degrees Celsius.Furthermore, an upper electrode of TiN or another is formed by the CVDprocess or the PVD process, and then, a patterning is carried out tohave a desired shape. Thus, the thin film capacitor of a MIM structurehaving the capacitor dielectric film formed of Ta₂O₅ is obtained.

FIG. 14A is a diagrammatic section view of a capacitor formed of acapacitor dielectric film formed of Ta₂O₅ and upper and lower capacitorelectrodes of TiN. FIG. 14B is a graph illustrating a relation betweenan electrode-to-electrode voltage (Vp) and a leakage current in thestructure shown in FIG. 14A. FIG. 14B shows the leakage current attemperatures of 25 degrees Celsius, 85 degrees Celsius and 125 degreesCelsius. It would be seen from this figure that the leakage currentremarkably increases when the temperature becomes not less than 85degrees Celsius which is a device operation guarantee temperature.

Furthermore, in a LSI chip, it is considered to form a high dielectricconstant thin film capacitor above interconnections in the LSI, so as touse it as a decoupling capacitor. The decoupling capacitor is providedto compensate for a voltage drop which is caused for a parasiteinductance existing between a power supply and interconnections of theLSI.

Referring to FIG. 15, a conventional decoupling capacitor is shown. Inthe prior art, as shown in FIG. 15, a number of laminated ceramiccapacitors 93 are located around a LSI chip 92 mounted on a printedcircuit substrate 91, so that those capacitors function as thedecoupling capacitor. However, a resonance frequency of the laminatedceramic capacitor is on the order of about 80 MHz, and therefore, whenthe LSI is speeded up to several hundred MHz to several GHz, asatisfactory electric charge compensation cannot be carried out, so thatit does not function as the decoupling capacitor.

FIG. 16 illustrates a thin film capacitor used as the decouplingcapacitor. A high dielectric constant thin film capacitor is formed overan uppermost interconnection layer in a semiconductor device, so as toconstitute an on-chip decoupling capacitor.

As shown in FIG. 16, over a wiring conductor or interconnection (groundline) 94 and a wiring conductor or interconnection (power supply line)95, a lower electrode film, a capacitor dielectric film and an upperelectrode film are deposited in the named order by a CVD process, andthen, patterned into a desired shape, so as to form a thin filmcapacitor composed of a lower electrode 96, a capacitor dielectric film97 and an upper electrode 98. This thin film capacitor constitutes adecoupling capacitor 99. Here, the lower electrode 96 and the upperelectrode 98 are formed of TiN, and the capacitor dielectric film 97 isformed of Ta₂O₅. In addition, in order to reduce a leakage current,after the capacitor dielectric film 97 of Ta₂O₅ is formed, a UV-O₃anneal is carried out at a temperature of 500 degrees Celsius.

In the case of forming a high dielectric constant thin film capacitorover the uppermost interconnection layer in the semiconductor device touse it as the decoupling capacitor, the demand of a low inductance and alarge capacitance is satisfied with a one-chip feature and use of a highdielectric constant capacitor,

As mentioned above, in the conventional thin film capacitor having thelower electrode formed of TiN, W or Ru and the capacitor dielectric filmof Ta₂O₅, it is necessary to carry out the post-anneal in an oxidizingatmosphere since the leakage current is large in a condition just afterthe formation of Ta₂O₅. However, because of this post anneal, the lowerelectrode layer is oxidized so that a low dielectric constant film isformed. As a result, even if the thickness of the Ta₂O₅ film is reduced,a large capacitance cannot be obtained.

In addition, because of the oxidation occurring in the post anneal, aconcavo-convex or a peeling occurs in the lower electrode layer, withthe result that the yield of production lowers.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 14B, although the leakage current is noproblem at a room temperature of 25 degrees Celsius, if the temperatureis elevated to 85 degrees Celsius and further to 125 degrees Celsius,the leakage current increases, so that a sufficient capacitancecharacteristics cannot be ensured at a device operation guaranteetemperature.

On the other hand, in the case that a high dielectric constant thin filmcapacitor is formed over the uppermost interconnection layer in thesemiconductor device and is used as the decoupling capacitor, the demandof a low inductance and a large capacitance is satisfied with a one-chipfeature and use of a high dielectric constant capacitor, but the presentmethod for forming the thin film capacitor has a problem.

It has been proposed to use Ta₂O₅, SrTiO₃ and (Ba, Sr)TiO₃ formed by thePVD process or the CVD process, for the capacitor dielectric film of theabove mentioned thin film capacitor. However, in order to obtain acapacitor dielectric film of an excellent quality having a largecapacitance in the conventional method utilizing the PVD or CVD process,a high temperature of not less than 400 degrees Celsius is required. Inaddition, in order to reduce the leakage current, it is also necessaryto carry out the post anneal in the oxidizing atmosphere at thetemperature of not less than 450 degrees Celsius.

Furthermore, recently, a copper wiring conductor is used forinterconnection. Therefore, in the case that a capacitor is formed overthe uppermost interconnection layer, if the temperature is elevated tonot less than 450 degrees Celsius, the interconnection layer isoxidized, with the result that the characteristics is deteriorated andthe yield of production lowers.

In other word, the conventional method for forming the thin filmcapacitor can realize a large-capacitance, low-inductance, one-chipdecoupling capacitor which meet with the speedup of the LSI.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a thinfilm capacitor and a method for forming the same, which have overcomethe above mentioned problems of the prior art.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a capacitor whichcan realize a large capacitance and a small leakage current as acapacitor for a DRAM cell in a memory section of a semiconductor devicehaving the memory section and a logic section formed on the same chip,without deterioration of a transistor characteristics attributable todeterioration in a silicide layer formed in gate electrodes and onsource/drain diffused layer regions in the semiconductor device.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide asemiconductor device having the above mentioned capacitor formed afteran interconnection layer is formed (namely, above the interconnectionlayer) and a method for fabricating the same.

The above and other objects of the present invention are achieved inaccordance with the present invention by a semiconductor device having acapacitor of a MIM (metal-insulator-metal) structure having a capacitordielectric film formed of at least one material selected from the groupconsisting of ZrO₂, HfO₂, (Zr_(x), Hf_(1-x))O₂ (0<x<1), (Zr_(y),Ti_(1-y))O₂ (0<y<1), (Hf_(z), Ti_(1-z))O₂ (0<z<1), (Zr_(k), Ti_(l),Hf_(m))O₂ (0<k, 1, m<1, k+l+m=1).

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda semiconductor device including a transistor having a gate electrodeand source/drain diffused layers having a refractory metal silicide,wherein a capacitor of a MIM (metal-insulator-metal) structure having acapacitor dielectric film, which is formed of at least one materialselected from the group consisting of ZrO₂, HfO₂, (Zr_(x), Hf_(1-x))O₂(0<x<1), (Zr_(y), Ti_(1-y))O₂ (0<y<1), (Hf_(z), Ti_(1-z))O₂ (0<z<1),(Zr_(k), Ti_(l), Hf_(m))O₂ (0<k, l, m<1, k+l+m=1), and which is providedon an insulator film formed on the source/drain diffused layer.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a semiconductor device wherein a capacitor of a MIM(metal-insulator-metal) structure having a capacitor dielectric film,which is formed of at least one material selected from the groupconsisting of ZrO₂, HfO₂, (Zr_(x), Hf_(1-x))O₂ (0<x<1), (Zr_(y),Ti_(1-y))O₂ (0<y<1), (Hf_(z), Ti_(1-z))O₂ (0<z<1), (Zr_(k), Ti_(l),Hf_(m))O₂ (0<k, l, m<1, k+l+m=1), and which is provided on an insulatorfilm formed on an interconnection.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a method for fabricating a semiconductor device, comprising thesteps of forming a lower electrode of a capacitor, forming on the lowerelectrode, by means of an atomic layer deposition, a capacitordielectric film formed of at least one material selected from the groupconsisting of ZrO₂, HfO₂, (Zr_(x), Hf_(1-x))O₂ (0<x<1), (Zr_(y),Ti_(1-y))O₂ (0<y<1), (Hf_(z), Ti_(1-z))O₂ (0<z<1), (Zr_(k), Ti_(l),Hf_(m))O₂ (0<k, l, m<1, k+l+m=1), and, after formation of the capacitordielectric film, carrying out a heat treatment at a temperature notlower than a film deposition temperature in the atomic layer deposition.

According to a still further aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a method for fabricating a semiconductor device, comprising thesteps of forming a lower electrode of a capacitor, forming on the lowerelectrode, by means of an atomic layer deposition, a capacitordielectric film formed of at least one material selected from the groupconsisting of ZrO₂, HfO₂, (Zr_(x), Hf_(1-x))O₂ (0<x<1), (Zr_(y),Ti_(1-y))O₂ (0<y<1), (Hf_(z), Ti_(1-z))O₂ (0<z<1), (Zr_(k), Ti_(l),Hf_(m))O₂ (0<k, 1, M<1, k+l+m=1), and, after formation of the capacitordielectric film, carrying out a heat treatment at a temperature which isnot lower than a film deposition temperature in the atomic layerdeposition but which is not higher than a temperature where noaggregation of a refractory metal silicide occurs in a gate electrodeand source/drain diffused layer regions in the case that the refractorymetal silicide is provided in the gate electrode and the source/draindiffused layer regions.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a method for fabricating a semiconductor device having acapacitor of a MIM (metal-insulator-metal) structure formed on aninsulator film formed on an interconnection, comprising the steps offorming a lower electrode of the capacitor, forming on the lowerelectrode, by means of an atomic layer deposition, a capacitordielectric film formed of at least one material selected from the groupconsisting of ZrO₂, HfO₂, (Zr_(x), Hf_(1-x))O₂ (0<x<1), (Zr_(y),Ti_(1-y))O₂ (0<y<1), (Hf_(z), Ti_(1-z))O₂ (0<z<1), (Zr_(k), Ti_(l),Hf_(m))O₂ (0<k, 1, m<1, k+l+m=1), and then, forming an upper electrodeon the capacitor dielectric film.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will be apparent from the following description of preferredembodiments of the invention with reference to the accompanyingdrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic view for illustrating the structure of oneembodiment of the thin film capacitor in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating a process for forming a ZrO₂ thinfilm by use of an ALD apparatus;

FIG. 3 is a graph illustrating a relation between anelectrode-to-electrode voltage (Vp) of a thin film capacitor and aleakage current;

FIG. 4 is a graph illustrating a relation between teq (film thicknessconverted into SiO₂) and an actual film thickness;

FIG. 5 is a graph illustrating a relation between teq (film thicknessconverted into SiO₂) and an actual film thickness;

FIG. 6 is a graph illustrating a relation between a leakage current andteq (film thickness converted into SiO₂);

FIGS. 7 and 8 are diagrammatic sectional views for illustrating aconventional method for forming a stacked MIM capacitor;

FIGS. 9A to 9N are diagrammatic sectional views for illustrating amethod for forming a stacked MIM capacitor in accordance with thepresent invention;

FIG. 10 is a flow chart illustrating a process for forming a TiN thinfilm by use of an ALD apparatus;

FIG. 11 is a diagrammatic sectional view of a planar capacitor;

FIG. 12 is a diagrammatic sectional view of a box type capacitor;

FIG. 13 is a diagrammatic sectional view illustrating a fourthembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 14A is a diagrammatic sectional view of a conventional capacitorformed of a capacitor dielectric film formed of Ta₂O₅ and upper andlower capacitor electrodes of TiN;

FIG. 14B is a graph illustrating a relation between anelectrode-to-electrode voltage (Vp) and a leakage current in theconventional capacitor shown in FIG. 14A;

FIG. 15 illustrates a conventional decoupling capacitor; and

FIG. 16 illustrates a conventional thin film capacitor used as thedecoupling capacitor.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Now, embodiments of the present invention will be described withreference to the drawings.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a diagrammatic view for illustratingthe structure of one embodiment of the thin film capacitor in accordancewith the present invention.

The first embodiment is a thin film capacitor of a MIM(metal-insulator-metal) structure, provided in a semiconductor device.This thin film capacitor includes a lower electrode 1, a capacitordielectric film 2 and an upper electrode 3 stacked in the named order.Each of the upper electrode 3 and the lower electrode 1 is formed of atleast one material selected from the group consisting of a metal and ametal nitride, represented by TiN, Ti, W, WN, Pt, Ir, Ru. The capacitordielectric film 2 is formed of at least one material selected from thegroup consisting of ZrO₂, HfO₂, (Zr_(x), Hf_(1-x))O₂ (0<x<1), (Zr_(y),Ti_(1-y))O₂ (0<y<1), (Hf_(z), Ti_(1-z))O₂ (0<z<1), (Zr_(k), Ti_(l),Hf_(m))O₂ (0<k, 1, m<1, k+l+m=1), and formed by means of an atomic layerdeposition (abbreviated to “ALD”).

Here, (Zr_(x), Hf_(1-x))O₂ (0<x<1) is an oxide of a solid solution of Zrand Hf. (Zr_(y), Ti_(1-y))O₂ (0<y<1) is an oxide of a solid solution ofZr and Ti. (Hf_(z), Ti_(1-z))O₂ (0<z<1) is an oxide of a solid solutionof Hf and Ti. (Zr_(k), Ti_(l), Hf_(m))O₂ (0<k, l, m<1, k+l+m=1) is anoxide of a solid solution of Zr, Ti and Hf.

Here, a method for forming the thin film capacitor in the case that thecapacitor dielectric film is formed of ZrO₂, will be described. First, alower electrode thin film having a film thickness of 5 to 50 nm isformed of at least one material selected from the group consisting ofTiN, Ti, W, WN, Pt, Ir, Ru, by means of a PVD process, a CVD process ora ALD process, and then, is patterned into a desired shape, so that alower electrode 1 is formed.

Then, a capacitor dielectric film is formed of ZrO₂ by means of the ALDprocess. FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating a process for forming aZrO₂ thin film by use of an ALD apparatus;

The ZrO₂ thin film is deposited by using ZrCl₄ as a starting materialfor Zr and H₂O as an oxygen material, under a deposition temperature of200 to 400 degrees Celsius.

First, ZrCl₄ is supplied as a starting material into a chamber of theALD apparatus, so that only a one-atom layer is deposited on a surfaceof the lower electrode thin film by causing a reaction. Next, the supplyof ZrCl₄ is stopped, and an inert gas represented by Ar or N₂ isintroduced into the chamber as a purge gas so that an excessiveunreacted ZrCl₄ is removed.

Thereafter, H₂O is supplied to replace a Cl group which terminates Zrgrown on the surface of the lower electrode thin film, with an OH groupof H₂O. In this process, HCl is produced as a reaction subproduct. Then,the supply of H₂O is stopped, and the inert gas represented by Ar or N₂is introduced into the chamber as the purge gas so that an unreacted H₂Oand the reaction subproduct HCl are removed.

Then, ZrCl₄ is supplied again so that only another one-atom layer isdeposited. The supply of ZrCl₄ is stopped, and the purge gas is producedso that an unreacted ZrCl₄ and the reaction subproduct HCl are removed.

In this manner, a cycle of the ZrCl₄ supply, the purge, the H₂O supplyand the purge sequentially carried in the named order, is repeatednecessary times, until the capacitor dielectric film 2 of ZrO₂ havingthe film thickness of 5 to 15 nm is obtained.

After the ZrO₂ thin film is formed, an upper electrode thin film havinga film thickness of 5 to 50 nm is formed of at least one materialselected from the group consisting of TiN, Ti, W, WN, Pt, Ir, Ru, bymeans of a PVD process, a CVD process or a ALD process, and then, ispatterned into a desired shape, so that an upper electrode 3 is formed.Thus, the thin film capacitor is obtained.

The thin film capacitor formed as mentioned above has a small leakagecurrent and a large capacitance, because the capacitor dielectric filmis formed of ZrO₂ having a high electrical insulation property and alarge dielectric constant, and because a leakage current increase issmall even if the film thickness of ZrO₂ is reduced.

In addition, if the ZrO₂ thin film is formed by the ALD process, it ispossible to carry out a film formation at a low temperature and to omita post anneal which is carried out in an oxidizing atmosphere.Therefore, it is possible to avoid the drop of the capacitance, theincrease of the leakage current and the drop in the yield of production,caused by oxidation of the lower electrode.

Referring to FIG. 3, there is shown a graph illustrating a relationbetween an electrode-to-electrode voltage (Vp) of a thin film capacitorand a leakage current in the case that the capacitor dielectric film isformed of ZrO₂ and the upper and lower electrodes are formed of TiN.From comparison of FIG. 3 with FIG. 14B, it would be seen that theleakage current evidently becomes small in comparison with the thin filmcapacitor having the capacitor dielectric film formed of Ta₂O₅, shown inFIG. 14A.

In the above mentioned embodiment, the capacitor dielectric film isformed of ZrO₂ deposited by the ALD process. However, a similaradvantage can be obtained in the case that the capacitor dielectric filmis formed of at least one material selected from the group consisting ofHfO₂, (Zr_(x), Hf_(1-x))O₂ (0<x<1), (Zr_(y), Ti_(1-y))O₂ (0<y<1),(Hf_(z), Ti_(1-z))O₂ (0<z<1), and (Zr_(k), Ti_(l), Hf_(m))O₂ (0<k, l,m<1, k+l+m=1).

In the case that the capacitor dielectric film is formed of HfO₂, HfCl₄is used as a starting material for Hf, and H₂O is used as an oxygenmaterial.

In the case that the capacitor dielectric film is formed of (Zr_(x),Hf_(1-x))O₂, ZrCl₄ is used as a starting material for Zr, HfCl₄ is usedas a starting material for Hf, and H₂O is used as an oxygen material.

In the case that the capacitor dielectric film is formed of (Zr_(y),Ti_(1−y))O₂, ZrCl₄ is used as a starting material for Zr, TiCl₄ is usedas a starting material for Ti, and H₂O is used as an oxygen material.

In the case that the capacitor dielectric film is formed of (Hf_(z),Ti_(1-z))O₂, HfCl₄ is used as a starting material for Hf, TiCl₄ is usedas a starting material for Ti, and H₂O is used as an oxygen material.

In the case that the capacitor dielectric film is formed of (Zr_(k),Ti_(l), Hf_(m))O₂, ZrCl₄ is used as a starting material for Zr, TiCl₄ isused as a starting material for Ti, HfCl₄ is used as a starting materialfor Hf, and H₂O is used as an oxygen material.

Now, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

According to this second embodiment, in a thin film capacitor of a MIMstructure having a capacitor dielectric film formed of at least onematerial selected from the group consisting of ZrO₂, HfO₂, (Zr_(x),Hf_(1-x))O₂ (0<x<1), (Zr_(y), Ti_(1-y))O₂ (0<y<1), (Hf_(z), Ti_(1-z))O₂(0<z<1), (Zr_(k), Ti_(l), Hf_(m))O₂ (0<k, l, m<1, k+l+m=1), deposited bymeans of the ALD process, an anneal is carried out after formation ofthe capacitor dielectric film.

The thin film capacitor of the MIM structure in accordance with thefirst embodiment having the capacitor dielectric film formed of at leastone material selected from the group consisting of ZrO₂, HfO₂, (Zr_(x),Hf_(1-x))O₂ (0<x<1), (Zr_(y), Ti_(1-y))O₂ (0<y<1), (Hf_(z), Ti_(1-z))O₂(0<Z<1), (Zr_(k), Ti_(l), Hf_(m))O₂ (0<k, l, m<1, k+l+m=1), has a smallleakage current and a large capacitance, in comparison with the thinfilm capacitor having the capacitor dielectric film formed of Ta₂O₅, andtherefore, can be satisfactorily used as a memory capacitor in a DRAMcell. However, when the film thickness of the capacitor dielectric filmis decreased, the capacitance increase is small (namely, the decrease ofteq is small), and on the other hand, the leakage current increases.

Referring to FIG. 4, there is shown a graph illustrating a relationbetween teq (film thickness converted into SiO₂) and an actual filmthickness when the capacitor dielectric film formed of ZrO₂ and theupper and lower electrodes are formed of TiN. A capacitance drop causedby a low dielectric constant layer contribution would be seen from FIG.4.

The reason for this is considered as follows: Just after the depositionof the ZrO₂ thin film, a ZrO₂ boundary layer having poor crystallinityexists, which act as a low dielectric constant layer. Therefore, even ifthe film thickness is decreased, the low dielectric constant layercontribution is large, with the result that the capacitance of thecapacitor as a whole cannot be correspondingly increased. On the otherhand, the leakage current increases with the decrease of the filmthickness.

In this second embodiment, on the other hand, in the thin film capacitorformed in accordance with the first embodiment, namely, in the thin filmcapacitor of the MIM structure having the capacitor dielectric filmformed of the ZrO₂ thin film formed by the ALD process, the anneal iscarried out at a temperature of 300 to 700 degrees Celsius after thedeposition of the ZrO₂ thin film. As a result, a further largecapacitance and a small leakage current are realized in the thin filmcapacitor.

As mentioned above, the thin film capacitor having the ZrO₂ thin filmdeposited on a metal electrode by the ALD process can be used as amemory capacitor in the DRAM cell. However, in order to meet with thedemand for a further microminiaturization and a further highintegration, it is preferred to obtain a further large capacitance and asmall leakage current.

The inventors of the present application uncovered that if an ZrO₂ thinfilm is only deposited on a metal electrode by the ALD process, anamorphous ZrO₂ layer region exists at a boundary between the lowerelectrode and the ZrO₂ layer, and it is not possible to obtain acharacteristics intrinsic to the MIM structure thin film capacitorhaving the capacitor dielectric film of ZrO₂. Namely, since theamorphous layer functions as a low dielectric constant layer in the MIMstructure thin film capacitor, the obtained capacitance drops.

Furthermore, the inventors of the present application uncovered andconfirmed that the amorphous ZrO₂ layer is crystallized by carrying outthe anneal after the deposition of the ZrO₂ layer. With thiscrystallization, the ZrO₂ layer is homogenized, so that the abovementioned low dielectric constant boundary layer is removed. As aresult, it was confirmed that a further large capacitance and a smallleakage current are obtained in comparison with the case that no annealwas carried out.

For example, the ZrO₂ capacitor dielectric film is deposited on thelower electrode of TiN by the ALD process at a temperature of 200 to 400degrees Celsius, and thereafter, for example, the upper electrode of TiNis formed, and then, is patterned into a desired shape, so that the MIMthin film capacitor is obtained. Thereafter, the MIM thin film capacitorthus obtained is annealed at a temperature which is not lower than aZrO₂ layer deposition temperature and which is in a range of 300 to 700degrees Celsius.

Incidentally, the above mentioned amorphous layer is formed when thecapacitor dielectric film is deposited, and the anneal may be carriedout at any time after the deposition of the capacitor dielectric film.For example, a similar advantage can be obtained even if the anneal iscarried out immediately after the deposition of the capacitor dielectricfilm or even if the anneal is carried out after the formation of theupper electrode.

In addition, the atmosphere in which the anneal is carried out is notimportant, but it is preferable to use a non-oxidizing atmosphere whichdoes not cause a characteristics deterioration attributable to oxidationof the low electrode material, namely, N₂, Ar, He, or a forming gas(H₂+N₂).

Referring to FIG. 5, there is shown a graph illustrating a relationbetween teq (film thickness converted into SiO₂) and an actual filmthickness in the case that the capacitor dielectric film is formed ofZrO₂ and the upper and lower electrodes are formed of TiN. It could beseen from FIG. 5 that, if the anneal is carried out, the low dielectricconstant layer contribution becomes null. In FIG. 5, a black solidcircle indicates the thin film capacitor formed with no anneal, which isthe same as the thin film capacitor shown in FIG. 4. A white circleindicates the thin film capacitor formed by carrying out the annealunder the atmosphere of a mixed gas of hydrogen and nitrogen, and atriangle indicates the thin film capacitor formed by carrying out theanneal under the atmosphere of only nitrogen.

Referring to FIG. 6, there is shown a graph illustrating a relationbetween a leakage current and teq (film thickness converted into SiO₂)in the case that the capacitor dielectric film is formed of ZrO₂ and theupper and lower electrodes are formed of TiN. In FIG. 6, a white circleindicates the thin film capacitor formed with no anneal. A squareindicates the thin film capacitor formed by carrying out the annealunder a mixed gas of hydrogen and nitrogen, and a triangle indicates thethin film capacitor formed by carrying out the anneal under only anitrogen. It could be seen from FIG. 6 that the case of carrying out theanneal under the mixed gas of hydrogen and nitrogen and the case ofcarrying out the anneal under only the nitrogen exhibit substantiallythe same leakage current value. Therefore, it would be seen that onlythe heat treatment is effective, and the atmosphere for the anneal doesnot give any influence.

As seen from the above, in the thin film capacitor of the secondembodiment, the low dielectric constant layer (ZrO₂ boundary layerhaving poor crystallinity) existing just after the deposition of theZrO₂ thin film, is improved in crystallinity by the anneal, so that itno longer functions as the low dielectric constant layer. As a result,the capacitance is increased (namely, teq is decreased). In addition,since crystallinity is improved in the whole of the ZrO₂ thin film, theleakage current is decreased.

In the above mentioned second embodiment, the capacitor dielectric filmis formed of ZrO₂. However, a similar advantage can be obtained in thecase that the capacitor dielectric film is formed of at least onematerial selected from the group consisting of HfO₂, (Zr_(x),Hf_(1-x))O₂ (0<x<1), (Zr_(y), Ti_(1-y))O₂ (0<y<1), (Hf_(z), Ti_(1-z))O₂(0<z<1), and (Zr_(k), Ti_(l), Hf_(m))O₂ (0<k, l, m<1, k+l+m=1).

In addition, when the thin film capacitor of the second embodiment isformed in a semiconductor device having a transistor in which arefractory metal silicide is provided in a gate electrode andsource/drain diffused layer regions, the anneal condition is required ata temperature which is not lower than the ZrO₂ deposition temperature inthe ALD process but which is not higher than a temperature where noaggregation of the refractory metal silicide occurs in the gateelectrode and the source/drain diffused layer regions. The aggregationof the silicide is remarkable in a region having a small area, namely,in the gate electrode rather than the source/drain diffused layerregions. For example, in the device on the generation of the gate length0.15 micron, the aggregation temperature is about 600 degrees Celsius.In this case, the anneal temperature is not lower than the ZrO₂deposition temperature in the ALD process but not higher than 600degrees Celsius.

Now, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described.

According to this third embodiment, in a stacked MIM(metal-insulator-metal) capacitor in a DRAM or a logic mixed DRAM havinga logic section and a memory section formed on the same chip, a lowerelectrode, a capacitor dielectric film and an upper electrode aresequentially formed in the ALD process by use of an ALD apparatus.

First, a conventional method for forming the stacked MIM capacitor in aDRAM or a logic mixed DRAM will be described. As shown in FIG. 7, atransistor is formed, and after a capacitor contact 11 is formed, aninterlayer insulator film 12 is deposited. Then, an opening is formed inthe interlayer insulator film 12 by use of lithography, and a lowerelectrode (metal) 13 is deposited. Thereafter, a resist 14 is filledinto the opening to protect the opening, and only an upper portion ofthe interlayer insulator film is removed by an etch-back process or aCMP (chemical mechanical polishing) process, so that capacitors areseparated from each other. Then, as shown in FIG. 8, a capacitordielectric film 15 and an upper electrode 16 are deposited, and apatterning is carried out to form a common electrode conductor(capacitor plate).

In this conventional method for forming the stacked MIM capacitor, whenthe lower electrode is selectively removed, it is necessary to chargethe resist 14 into the opening so as to prevent a portion which willbecome the lower electrode of the capacitor, from the etching. For thepurpose of removing this resist, it is possible to remove this resist byusing acid, in a MIS (metal-insulator-silicon) capacitor having thelower electrode formed of polysilicon. However, in the MIM capacitorhaving the lower electrode formed of a metal such as TiN, it isimpossible to remove this resist by using acid (SPM (sulfuricacid—peroxide mixture). Therefore, the resist is removed by a plasmaremoval processing plus an organic removal processing. However, thisremoval method is difficult to completely remove depositions which weregenerated in the etching and a removal residue of the resist.

Furthermore, in conventional method for forming the stacked MIMcapacitor, it is difficult to avoid a plasma damage to the surface ofthe lower electrode when the lower electrode is selectively removed andwhen the resist is removed. In addition, since impurity such as carbonin atmosphere of a clean room deposits on the surface of the lowerelectrode, it is also difficult to maintain a boundary between the lowerelectrode and the capacitor dielectric film in a good condition, withthe result that the characteristics of the capacitor dielectric film isdeteriorated.

In the third embodiment of the present invention, on the other hand, ina thin film capacitor of a MIM structure in which each of an upperelectrode and a lower electrode is formed of at least one materialselected from the group consisting of a metal and a metal nitride,represented by TiN, Ti, W, WN, Pt, Ir, Ru, and a capacitor dielectricfilm is formed of at least one material selected from the groupconsisting of ZrO₂, HfO₂, (Zr_(x), Hf_(1-x))O₂ (0<x<1), (Zr_(y),Ti_(1-y))O₂ (0<y<1), (Hf_(z), Ti_(1-z))O₂ (0<z<1), (Zr_(k), Ti_(l),Hf_(m))O₂ (0<k, l, m<1, k+l+m=1), the lower electrode, the capacitordielectric film and the upper electrode are sequentially formed in thesame machine in the ALD process by using an ALD apparatus. With thisarrangement, a boundary between the lower electrode and the capacitordielectric film can be maintained in a good condition.

Now, a method in accordance with the third embodiment of the presentinvention for forming the stacked MIM capacitor in the DRAM or the logicmixed DRAM, will be described with reference to diagrammatic sectionalviews of FIGS. 9A to 9N. Here, explanation will be made on a cylindertype capacitor, which is one kind of the stacked capacitor, and whichincludes a capacitor dielectric film formed of ZrO₂ and upper and lowerelectrodes formed of TiN.

First, as shown in FIG. 9A, a device isolation region 22 is formed on aprincipal surface of a semiconductor substrate (silicon substrate) 21 toconfirm a device formation region. In the device formation region, agate electrode 23 is formed on a not-shown gate insulator film, and asource/drain diffused region 24 is formed in a surface region of thesubstrate at each side of the gate electrode. This gate electrode 23forms a word line in the DRAM. Then, a side wall 25 is formed on eachside of the gate electrode 23, and Co (cobalt) or Ni (nickel) isdeposited on the gate electrodes 23 and the source/drain diffusedregions 24 to form a cobalt silicide or a nickel silicide. Thus, MOStransistors are formed.

Then, as shown in FIG. 9B, an interlayer insulator film 26 is formed tocover the transistors, and an upper surface of the interlayer insulatorfilm 26 is planarized.

As shown in FIG. 9C, a hole for a cell contact (capacitor contact) 27and a hole for a cell contact (bit contact) 28 are formed in theinterlayer insulator film 26 to reach the source/drain diffused regions24 by a lithography, and W (tungsten) is charged into the holes thusformed, to form a W plug.

As shown in FIG. 9D, a bit line conductor layer is formed on theinterlayer insulator film 26 and the cell contacts 27 and 28, and ispatterned to form a bit line 29 electrically connected to the W plug ofthe cell contact 28.

As shown in FIG. 9E, an interlayer insulator film 30 is deposited tocover the bit line 29, and then, and an upper surface of the interlayerinsulator film 30 is planarized.

As shown in FIG. 9F, a hole for a capacitor contact 31 is formed in theinterlayer insulator film 30 to reach the cell contact 27 by alithography, and W (tungsten) is charged into the hole thus formed, toform a W plug.

As shown in FIG. 9G, an interlayer insulator film 32 is formed to coverthe interlayer insulator film 30 and the capacitor contact 31.

As shown in FIG. 9H, a cylinder 33 is formed in the interlayer insulatorfilm 32 to reach the capacitor contact 31 by a lithography.

As shown in FIG. 91, by using the ALD apparatus, a lower electrode metal34 of TiN, a capacitor dielectric film 35 of ZrO₂ and an upper electrodemetal 36 a of TiN are continuously formed in the named order within thesame machine without being exposed to air.

Here, referring to FIG. 10, there is shown a flow chart illustrating aprocess for forming a TiN film which constitutes the lower electrodemetal 34 and the upper electrode metal 36 a, by use of the ALDapparatus.

For formation of the TiN film, TiCl₄ and NH₃ are used as a startingmaterial gas. A film deposition temperature is on the order of 300 to500 degrees Celsius.

First, TiCl₄ is supplied to a chamber of the ALD apparatus. Thus, only aone-atom layer is deposited, by reaction, on a surface of the interlayerinsulator film 32 including the surface of the cylinder formed in theinterlayer insulator film 32. Next, the supply of TiCl₄ is stopped, anda purge gas is introduced into the chamber so that an excessiveunreacted TiCl₄ is removed.

Thereafter, NH₃ is supplied to replace a Cl group which terminates Tigrown on the surface of the interlayer insulator film, with a NH₂ group.In this process, HCl is produced as a reaction subproduct. Then, thesupply of NH₃ is stopped, and the inert gas represented by Ar or N₂ isintroduced into the chamber as the purge gas so that an unreacted NH₃and the reaction subproduct HCl are removed.

Then, TiCl₄ is supplied again so that only another one-atom layer isdeposited. The supply of TiCl₄ is stopped, and the purge gas inintroduced so that an unreacted TiCl₄ and the reaction subproduct HClare removed. The supply of the purge gas is stopped, and NH₃ issupplied.

In this manner, a cycle of the TiCl₄ supply, the purge, the NH₃ supplyand the purge sequentially carried in the named order, is repeatednecessary times, until the lower electrode metal film 34 of TiN havingthe film thickness of 5 to 50 nm is obtained.

Thereafter, similarly to the procedure of the formation of the ZrO₂ thinfilm in the first embodiment as shown in FIG. 2, the capacitordielectric film 35 of ZrO₂ having the film thickness of 5 to 15 nm isformed on the lower electrode metal film 34 by alternately supplyingZrCl₄ and H₂O.

Furthermore, the upper electrode metal film 36 a of TiN having the filmthickness of 5 to 50 nm is formed on the capacitor dielectric film 35 byalternately supplying TiCl₄ and NH₃, similarly to the procedure of theformation of the lower electrode metal film 34 as shown in FIG. 10.

In the example shown in FIG. 91, an upper electrode metal 36 b formed ofW (tungsten) is deposited on the upper electrode metal film 36 a so thatthe upper electrode is formed of a double layer consisting of a TiNlayer and a W layer. In this case, the W layer is not necessarilyrequired to be formed by use of the ALD process, but can be formed byuse of a conventional CVD process or a sputtering. The ALD processexpends a time since it is necessary to alternately supply the differentgases. Use of the CVD process or the sputtering is effective for a massproduction of the device.

This can be applied to the lower electrode 34. Namely, it is notnecessary to form the whole of the lower electrode 34 by use of the ALDprocess. The lower electrode 34 can be formed first by the sputtering,for example, and then, only a portion of the lower electrode 34corresponding to the boundary layer is formed by the ALD process, andthereafter, the capacitor dielectric film 35 and the upper electrode 36a are succeedingly formed by the ALD process.

In other words, the lower electrode 34 and the upper electrode 36 a aresufficient if only a boundary portion to the capacitor dielectric film35 is formed by the ALD process. Therefore, it is sufficient if the filmthickness of each of the lower electrode 34 and the upper electrode 36 ato be formed by the ALD process has at least one-atom layer thickness.Accordingly, only a boundary portion to the capacitor dielectric film35, of each of the lower electrode 34 and the upper electrode 36 a, isformed by the ALD process to have at least one-atom layer thickness, andthe other portion of each of the lower electrode 34 and the upperelectrode 36 a can be formed by use of the CVD process or the sputteringso that the whole film thickness of each of the lower electrode 34 andthe upper electrode 36 a becomes 5 to 50 nm.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 9J, by a patterning using the CMP, theetch-back or the lithography, the stacked structure thus formed isdivided into a plurality of individual cylinder type capacitors 37 eachformed of the lower electrode 34, the capacitor dielectric film 35 andthe upper electrode 36.

Succeedingly, as shown in FIG. 9K, an insulating film 38 is deposited onthe whole surface to isolate the lower electrode 34 and the upperelectrode 36 from each other.

As shown in FIG. 9L, an opening 39 is formed through the insulating film38 at only a position above the upper electrode 36 and to reach theupper electrode 36. At this time, the opening 39 never extends to thelower electrode 34.

As shown in FIG. 9M, a common interconnection layer 40 is formed tocover the upper surface and to charge into the opening 39 so that theupper electrodes 36 are connected in common to the commoninterconnection layer 40.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 9N, an interlayer insulator film 41 isformed to cover the upper surface and the common interconnection layer40, and a first metal layer 42 is formed on the interlayer insulatorfilm 41 so as to constitute a first level interconnection.

In this third embodiment, since the lower electrode, the capacitordielectric film and the upper electrode are continuously formed in thesame machine (the same chamber) by use of the ALD apparatus which cancontrol the composition of the film with an atom-layer level, it ispossible to perfectly prevent the chemical and physical damages to thesurface of the lower electrode, which would otherwise occur when thelower electrode is patterned and when the resist is removed. Inaddition, it is also possible to minimize deposition of carbons includedin the air within the clean room, to the surface of the lower electrodeand the surface of the capacitor dielectric film. Because of thesereasons, it is possible to maintain a boundary between the lowerelectrode and the capacitor dielectric film and a boundary between thecapacitor dielectric film and the upper electrode in a good condition.Furthermore, since the boundary between the lower electrode and thecapacitor dielectric film is maintained in the good condition, it ispossible to minimize the capacitance drop and the increase of thecapacitor dielectric film leakage current.

In addition, after the MIM structure capacitor is formed, if the annealis carried out similarly to the capacitor of the second embodiment, itis possible to realize a capacitor having a further large capacitanceand a small leakage current. In this case, the anneal is carried out ata temperature which is not lower than the ZrO₂ forming temperature inthe ALD process but which is not higher than a temperature where noaggregation of a refractory metal silicide occurs in a gate electrodeand source/drain diffused layer regions in the case that the refractorymetal silicide is provided in the gate electrode and the source/draindiffused layer regions.

The present invention is in now way limited to the cylinder typecapacitor, but can be applied to a planar capacitor and a box typecapacitor.

Referring to FIG. 11, there is shown a diagrammatic sectional view of aplanar capacitor to which the present invention can be applied. A deviceisolation region 52 is formed on a principal surface of a semiconductorsubstrate (silicon substrate) 51 to confirm a device formation region.In the device formation region, a gate electrode 53 is formed on anot-shown gate insulator film, and a source/drain diffused region 54having a cobalt silicide is formed in a surface region of the substrateat each side of the gate electrode. An interlayer insulator film 55 isformed to cover the gate electrode 53 and the principal surface of thesubstrate.

A bit contact 56 is formed in the interlayer insulator film 55 to reachone of each pair of source/drain diffused regions 54. A bit line 57 isformed on the interlayer insulator film 55 to be electrically connectedto the bit contact 56. Furthermore, an interlayer insulator film 58 isdeposited to cover the bit line 57 and the interlayer insulator film 55.

On the interlayer insulator film 58, a lower electrode 59 formed of ametal of a metal nitride, a capacitor dielectric film 60 formed of ZrO₂,and an upper electrode 61 formed of a metal of a metal nitride, arecontinuously formed in the named order by the ALD apparatus. The lowerelectrode 59 is electrically connected to a capacitor contact 62 formedthrough the interlayer insulator films 58 and 55 to reach the other ofeach pair of source/drain diffused regions 54. A side wall 66 is formedon a side surface of each planar capacitor thus formed which is composedof the lower electrode 59, the capacitor dielectric film 60 and theupper electrode 61.

A common interconnection layer 63 is formed on the upper electrode 61 ofeach planar capacitor to interconnect the upper electrode 61 of theplanar capacitors. An interlayer insulator film 64 is formed to coverthe common interconnection layer 63, and a first metal layer 65 isformed on the interlayer insulator film 64 to constitute a first levelmetal interconnection.

Referring to FIG. 12, there is shown a diagrammatic sectional view of abox type capacitor to which the present invention can be applied. Adevice isolation region 72 is formed on a principal surface of asemiconductor substrate (silicon substrate) 71 to confirm a deviceformation region. In the device formation region, a gate electrode 73 isformed on a not-shown gate insulator film and a source/drain diffusedregion 74 having a cobalt silicide is formed in a surface region of thesubstrate at each side of the gate electrode. An interlayer insulatorfilm 75 is formed to cover the gate electrode 73 and the principalsurface of the substrate.

A bit contact 76 is formed in the interlayer insulator film 75 to reachone of each pair of source/drain diffused regions 74. A bit line 77 isformed on the interlayer insulator film 75 to be electrically connectedto the bit contact 76. Furthermore, an interlayer insulator film 78 isdeposited to cover the bit line 77 and the interlayer insulator film 75.A capacitor contact 82 is formed through the interlayer insulator films78 and 75 to reach the other of each pair of source/drain diffusedregions 74.

On the capacitor contact 82, a lower electrode 79 a of W (tungsten) isformed. To cover the lower electrode 79 a and the interlayer insulatorfilm 78, a lower electrode 79 b formed of a metal of a metal nitride, acapacitor dielectric film 80 formed of ZrO₂, and an upper electrode 81formed of a metal of a metal nitride, are continuously formed in thenamed order by the ALD apparatus. Thus, the box type capacitor iscomposed of the lower electrodes 79 a and 79 b, the capacitor dielectricfilm 80 and the upper electrode 81.

On the upper electrode 81, an insulator film 86 is formed to isolate theupper electrode 81 and the lower electrode 79 from each other. On the aninsulator film 86, a common interconnection layer 83 is formed tointerconnect the upper electrode 81 b of the planar capacitors. Aninterlayer insulator film 84 is formed to cover the commoninterconnection layer 83, and a first metal layer 85 is formed on theinterlayer insulator film 84 to constitute a first level metalinterconnection.

Now, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described.

In this fourth embodiment, in a semiconductor device having a MIS thinfilm capacitor formed on an insulator film formed to over an uppermostinterconnection layer, a capacitor dielectric film of the MIS thin filmcapacitor is formed by the ALD process which can carry out a filmdeposition at a low temperature and which makes the post-anneal in anoxidizing atmosphere unnecessary, and the MIS thin film capacitor islocated to function as a decoupling capacitor for power supply lines.

Referring to FIG. 13, there is shown a diagrammatic sectional view of apart of a semiconductor device, for illustrating the fourth embodimentof the present invention.

An interlayer insulator film 103 is formed to cover an uppermostinterconnection (ground line) 101, another uppermost interconnection(power supply line) 102 and an underlying interlayer insulator film. Onthe interlayer insulator film 103, a lower electrode 105, a capacitordielectric film 106 and an upper electrode 107 are formed in the namedorder to constitute a decoupling capacitor 104. The lower electrode 105is connected through a contact 108 to the uppermost interconnection(ground line) 101, and the upper electrode 107 is connected through acontact 109 to the uppermost interconnection (power supply line) 102.

Now, a method for forming the decoupling capacitor shown in FIG. 13 willbe described.

In a logic device formed in a known fabricating process, on theinterlayer insulator film 103, a lower electrode film is formed of atleast one material selected from the group consisting of TiN, Ti, TaN,Ta, W, WN, Pt, Ir, Ru, by means of a sputtering process or a ALDprocess, and then, is patterned into a desired shape, so that the lowerelectrode 105 is formed at a position above the uppermostinterconnection (ground line) 101 and is connected to the contact 108reaching the uppermost interconnection (ground line) 101.

Thereafter, a capacitor dielectric film is deposited to cover the lowerelectrode 105 by use of the ALD process at a film deposition temperatureof 200 to 400 degrees Celsius. This capacitor dielectric film isconstituted of a single-layer film formed of at least one materialselected from the group consisting of ZrO₂, HfO₂, (Zr_(x), Hf_(1-x))O₂(0<x<1), (Zr_(y), Ti_(1-y))O₂ (0<y<1), (Hf_(z), Ti_(1-z))O₂ (0<z<1),(Zr_(k), Ti_(l), Hf_(m))O₂ (0<k, l, m<1, k+l+m=1), or alternatively, amulti-layer film formed of at least two materials selected from thegroup mentioned above. Then, the capacitor dielectric film is patternedinto a desired shape to form the capacitor dielectric film 106.

Then, to cover the capacitor dielectric film 106, an upper electrodefilm is formed of at least one material selected from the groupconsisting of TiN, Ti, TaN, Ta, W, WN, Pt, Ir, Ru, by means of asputtering process or a ALD process, and then, is patterned into adesired shape, so that the upper electrode 107 is formed to partiallycover the capacitor dielectric film 106 and is connected to the contact109 reaching the uppermost interconnection (power supply line) 102.Thus, the thin film capacitor functioning as the decoupling capacitor isformed in the semiconductor device.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 13, the lower electrode is connected tothe uppermost interconnection (ground line) and the upper electrode isconnected to the uppermost interconnection (power supply line). However,the present invention is in no way limited to this fashion. It is amatter of course to persons skilled in the art that a similar advantagecan be obtained in the case that the lower electrode is connected to theuppermost interconnection (power supply line) and the upper electrode isconnected to the uppermost interconnection (ground line).

In addition, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 13, the thin film capacitoris formed over the uppermost interconnection of the semiconductor deviceto function as the decoupling capacitor. However, the thin filmcapacitor can be formed within the inside of the semiconductor device oron a lower surface of the semiconductor device.

As mentioned above, in the fourth embodiment, since a capacitordielectric film having a high dielectric constant is formed by the ALDprocess which can carry out a film deposition at a low temperature andwhich makes the post-anneal in an oxidizing atmosphere unnecessary, thethin film capacitor can be formed in the semiconductor device with nocharacteristics deterioration attributable to oxidation of theinterconnection layer and with no drop in yield of production.

Incorporation of the thin film capacitor in accordance with the presentinvention into the semiconductor device as the decoupling capacitor canovercome the problem mentioned hereinbefore of the conventional on-chipdecoupling capacitor and can simultaneously realize a low inductance anda large capacitance which are advantages of the on-chip decouplingcapacitor.

As mentioned above, in the MIM thin film capacitor in accordance withthe present invention, since a capacitor dielectric film is formed of atleast one material selected from the group consisting of ZrO₂, HfO₂,(Zr_(x), Hf_(1-x))O₂ (0<x<1), (Zr_(y), Ti_(1-y))O₂ (0<y<1), (Hf_(z),Ti_(1-z))O₂ (0<z<1), (Zr_(k), Ti_(l), Hf_(m))O₂ (0<k, l, m<1, k+l+m=1),it is possible to reduce a leakage current and to increase a capacitancevalue.

Furthermore, in the MIM thin film capacitor in accordance with thepresent invention, since an anneal is carried out after a capacitordielectric film is formed of at least one material selected from thegroup consisting of ZrO₂, HfO₂, (Zr_(x), Hf_(1-x))O₂ (0<X<1), (Zr_(y),Ti_(1-y))O₂ (0<y<1), (Hf_(z), Ti_(1−z))O₂ (0<z<1), (Zr_(k), Ti_(l),Hf_(m))O₂ (0<k, l, m<1, k+l+m=1), it is possible to further reduce aleakage current and to further increase a capacitance value.

In the stacked MIM thin film capacitor in accordance with the presentinvention provided in a DRAM or a logic mixed DRAM, since a lowerelectrode, a capacitor dielectric film and an upper electrode arecontinuously formed in the ALD process, a silicide layer formed in agate electrode and a source/drain diffused region is never deteriorated,and a sufficient capacitance value (a maximum capacitance value per aunitary area and a minimum leakage current value per a unitary area) canbe ensured as a capacitor of each DRAM cell provided in a memorysection.

Moreover, according to the present invention, since a thin filmcapacitor having a capacitor dielectric film formed of at least onematerial selected from the group consisting of ZrO₂, HfO₂, (Zr_(x),Hf_(1-x))O₂ (0<x<1), (Zr_(y), Ti_(1-y))O₂ (0<Y<1), (Hf_(z), Ti_(1-z))O₂(0<z<1), (Zr_(k), Ti_(l), Hf_(m))O₂ (0<k, l, m<1, k+l+m=1), is formedover an uppermost interconnection layer in a semiconductor device, it ispossible to realize a low-inductance, large-capacitance, one-chipdecoupling capacitor, which meets with a speedup of an LSI.

The invention has thus been shown and described with reference to thespecific embodiments. However, it should be noted that the presentinvention is in no way limited to the details of the illustratedstructures but changes and modifications may be made within the scope ofthe appended claims.

1-14. (Cancelled).
 15. A method for fabricating a semiconductor device,comprising the steps of forming a lower electrode of a capacitor,forming on the lower electrode, by means of an atomic layer deposition,a capacitor dielectric film formed of at least one material selectedfrom the group consisting of ZrO₂, HfO₂, (Zr_(x), Hf_(1-x))O₂ (0<x<1),(Zr_(y), Ti_(1-y))O₂ (0<y<1), (Hf_(z), Ti_(1-z))O₂ (0<z<1), (Zr_(k),Ti_(l), Hf_(m))O₂ (0<k, l, m<1, k+l+m=1), and, forming an upperelectrode of said capacitor on the capacitor dielectric film, so thatthe capacitor is constituted of said lower electrode, said capacitordielectric film and said upper electrode, wherein at a stage afterformation of said capacitor dielectric film, a heat treatment is carriedout at a temperature not lower than a film deposition temperature in theatomic layer deposition.
 16. A method for fabricating a semiconductordevice including a transistor having a gate electrode and source/draindiffused layers having a silicide of a refractory metal, the methodcomprising the steps of forming a lower electrode of a capacitor,forming on the lower electrode, by means of an atomic layer deposition,a capacitor dielectric film formed of at least one material selectedfrom the group consisting of ZrO₂, HfO₂, (Zr_(x), Hf_(1-x))O₂ (0<x<1),(Zr_(y), Ti_(1-y))O₂ (0<y<1), (Hf_(z), Ti_(1-z))O₂ (0<z<1), (Zr_(k),Ti_(l), Hf_(m))O₂ (0<k, l, m<1, k+l+m=1), and, forming an upperelectrode of said capacitor on said capacitor dielectric film, so thatthe capacitor is constituted of said lower electrode, said capacitordielectric film and said upper electrode.
 17. A method claimed in claim16 wherein after formation of said capacitor dielectric film, a heattreatment is carried out at a temperature which is not lower than a filmdeposition temperature in the atomic layer deposition but which is nothigher than a temperature where no aggregation of said silicide ofrefractory metal occurs in said gate electrode and said source/draindiffused layers.
 18. A method claimed in claim 16 wherein afterformation of said upper electrode, a heat treatment is carried out at atemperature which is not lower than a film deposition temperature in theatomic layer deposition but which is not higher than a temperature whereno aggregation of said silicide of refractory metal occurs in said gateelectrode and said source/drain diffused layers.
 19. A method claimed inclaim 16 wherein said capacitor constitutes a cell capacitor of eachDRAM cell and wherein said lower electrode, said capacitor dielectricfilm and said upper electrode are continuously deposited in the samemachine.
 20. A method claimed in claim 16 wherein said cell capacitor ofeach DRAM cell is of a cylinder type, and wherein after the formation ofsaid upper electrode, said lower electrode, said capacitor dielectricfilm and said upper electrode, which are positioned in an upper portionof the cylinder, are removed so that a cylinder type capacitor isformed, and said upper electrode charged into an inside of the cylinderis connected to a common interconnection.
 21. A method for fabricating asemiconductor device having a capacitor of a MIM (metal-insulator-metal)structure formed on an insulator film formed on an interconnectionlayer, the method comprising the steps of forming a lower electrode ofthe capacitor, forming on said lower electrode, by means of an atomiclayer deposition, a capacitor dielectric film formed of at least onematerial selected from the group consisting of ZrO₂, HfO₂, (Zr_(x),Hf_(1-x))O₂ (0<x<1), (Zr_(y), Ti_(1-y))O₂ (0<y<1), (Hf_(z), Ti_(1-z))O₂(0<z<1), (Zr_(k), Ti_(l), Hf_(m))O₂ (0<k, l, m<1, k+l+m=1), and then,forming an upper electrode on said capacitor dielectric film.
 22. Amethod of fabricating a semiconductor device comprising forming sourceand drain regions of a transistor, forming a metal plug in contact withone of the source and drain regions of said transistor, forming a lowermetal electrode of a capacitor in contact with said metal plug, forminga capacitor dielectric film on said lower metal electrode by atomiclayer deposition (ALD), and forming an upper metal electrode on saidcapacitor dielectric film, said capacitor dielectric film being formedof a dielectric material which is selected from the group consisting ofZrO₂, HfO₂, (Zr_(x), Hf_(1-x))O₂ (0<x<1), (Zr_(y), Ti_(1-y))O₂ (0<y<1),(Hf_(z), Ti_(1-z))O₂ (0<z<1) and (Zr_(k), Ti_(l), Hf_(m))O₂ (0<k, l,m<1, k+l+m=1), and said capacitor dielectric film having a filmthickness of 5 to 15 nm, whereby said semiconductor device results in abetter electrical connection between said capacitor and said transistorand in suppressing a change in leakage current between said lower metalelectrode and said upper metal electrode of said capacitor against achange in temperature irrespective of a thinner dielectric filmthickness.
 23. The method as claimed in claim 22, wherein said upperelectrode is formed by atomic layer deposition (ALD).
 24. The method asclaimed in claim 23, wherein said lower electrode is formed by atomiclayer deposition (ALD).
 25. A method of fabricating a semiconductordevice comprising forming first and second diffusion regions of atransistor selectively in a semiconductor substrate, forming first andsecond metal silicide layers on respective surface portions of saidfirst and second diffusion regions, covering said semiconductorsubstrate and said transistor with a first insulating layer, formingfirst and second holes in said first insulating layer to exposerespective parts of said first and second metal silicide layers, fillingsaid first and second holes with first and second metal plugsrespectively, forming a bit line formed over said first insulating layerin contract with said first metal plug, forming a second insulatinglayer formed over said first insulating layer and said bit line, forminga third contact hole in said second insulating layer, filling said thirdhole with a third metal plug, and forming a lower metal electrode of acapacitor in contact with said third metal plug, forming a dielectricfilm on said lower metal electrode by atomic layer deposition (ALD),said dielectric film being made of a dielectric material selected fromthe group consisting of ZrO₂, HfO₂, (Zr_(x), Hf_(1-x))O₂ (0<x<1),(Zr_(y), Ti_(1-y))O₂ (0<y<1), (Hf_(z), Ti_(1-z))O₂ (0<z<1), and (Zr_(k),Ti_(l), Hf_(m))O₂ (0<k, l, m<1, k+l+m=1), and forming an upper metalelectrode on said dielectric film, whereby said semiconductor deviceresults in a better electrical connection between said capacitor andsaid transistor without aggregation of said first and second metalsilicide layers occurring and in suppressing a change in leakage currentbetween said lower metal electrode and said upper metal electrode ofsaid capacitor against a change in temperature.
 26. The method asclaimed in claim 25, wherein said upper electrode is formed by atomiclayer deposition (ALD).
 27. The method as claimed in claim 26, whereinsaid lower electrode is formed by atomic layer deposition (ALD).